UDAN Phase-II to link metros with smaller cities in August

The Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) Regional Connectivity Scheme, in its second phase starting in August, would help link smaller towns with bigger cities, revealed R.N. Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. He said, “There are various routes like Lucknow-Varanasi, where there is no connectivity. During the second phase, we are expanding the scheme to unserved routes too. We have not decided on the number of unserved routes and we would like to leave it to the market and the airlines to decide on it. These routes, however, do not necessarily have to be between two unserved airports and could be between two well-connected airports too.” The ministry also proposed more changes, which include reductions in the minimum distance for an RCS flight to below 150 km, and the number of years of exclusivity to one from three years in the first phase.